


A New Life

by DMe_385



Category: Original Work
Genre: Disability, F/M, Physical Disability, Quadriplegic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 19:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13724622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DMe_385/pseuds/DMe_385
Summary: A married couple's happiness is short lived when the wife becomes a quadriplegic. They must find a way to accept their new normal.





	A New Life

It had been four months since 29-year old John Anderson married his 27 year old wife Sarah. The couple had met in college when John was a senior majoring in business and Sarah was a sophmore majoring in journalism. They dated while John established his career as a marketing executive and Sarah became a news station producer. They got engaged and planned their lake front wedding with their parents. John will never forget the day he watched Sarah escorted by her father walk down the aisle in white spaghetti strap dress with silky veil. He remembered the wedding reception and their honeymoon in Jamaica.

 

They moved into a home John had inherited from a grandparent a few years earlier. They got into their routine as a married couple. They spent their nights and weekends doing various things like watching TV and movies, playing cards, and on the weekends they went for hikes and bike rides.

 

It was a Thursday night, John was in the bathroom shirtless and wearing a pair of basketball shorts. He had dark brown hair and some stubble on his face that would be gone in the morning. He was looking the mirror brushing his teeth and blue eyes stood out in the mirror. He was listenting to Sarah talking about going a bike ride at a state park that weekend.

 

He loved doing that.

 

He finsihed brushing his teeth and rinsed his mouth. In the bedroom, he joined his blonde hair and blue eyes wife. Sarah was well toned.

 

John said, "I can't wait for the weekend to have time to relax and have some fun."

 

Sarah said, "Maybe, we could to the movies after work tomorrow."

 

"Nah, I want to stay in tomorrow and maybe order a pizza and watch hockey." He responded.

"Ok." Sarah said.

 

* * *

Saturday morning arrived and the couple was at nearby state park. John had a truck and the two mountain bikes were secured on the bed. The couple wore biking outfits. John's muscled arms were visible. They parked the truck in the parking lot and got their bikes and headed to the trail.

They made it down halfway through the trail when Sarah's bike hit a big rock and she didn't brake in time. She and the bike tumbled down she went head first into a tree. John was behind her and heard the noise. He found her slumped over. She was conscious, but seemed to have trouble speaking and breathing. 

He called out for help and hikers and bikers came by one of them had cell signals called down for a ranger to call an ambulance. Twenty minutes later, paramedics with firefighters came to them. They put a neck brace on Sarah and put an IV and EKGs on her. She was carefully put on gurney and taken down to the ambulance. In the ambulance, John watched as the paramedics worked on his wife.

One paramedic a red haired woman said, "It looks like a broken neck, broken right ankle, and broken arm.

The other paramedic a man with blonde hair and numerous tattoos carefully splinted the ankle and arm. Sarah was out of it. They finally reached the hospital and John watched as doctors and nurses took over caring for his wife. He had to wait in the lobby. He made calls to friends and family. His parents arrived first with a change of clothes for him.

 

John went a bathroom and removed his biking outfit and changed into a black t-shirt and jeans. When he came out a doctor was waiting for him.

  
"Hello, Mr. Anderson, I'm Dr. Davidson. Your wife is going to need surgery to repair the damage done to vertabraes in her neck."

 

John nodded and said,"I see. Will she be ok?"

 

The doctor had a sad look on his face and said, "Our main concern is repairing the damage and getting her neck stabilized. Your wife's neck was broken at what is known as the fourth cervical vertebrae which we refer to C4. I hate to tell you this, but she will be paralyzed from the shoulders down."

"No, that can't be. You have to do something. She can't be a cripple." John said.

  
"I'm sorry sir. With rehab and therapies, she'll be able to learn to live a new life. It will be difficult. She will be able to breathe on her own at some point and she dose n't have brain damage. We need you to sign these forms for surgery and you can see her before we take her in. She is unconscious and we need did an emergency tracheotomy which means she has a hole in her throat connected to a ventilator. She will need that for awhile as her lungs are weak right now.

 

John followed the doctor to the trauma room. Sarah was a stretcher. A sheet covered her. He could see EKG monitors on her chest and shoulders. A neck brace was on her and he said the pale blue coming from her throat. He cried.

He kissed her forehead and then allowed the staff to take her to the OR.

The surgery took several hours and John paced back and forth. His in-laws were on their way on a flight from Ohio to Oregon.

Finally, Dr. Davidson came out in a surgical gown and cap.

"Surgery went well. We got her stabilized. She is in a halo brace and will need that 8-12 weeks depending on healing. She will be in ICU."

An hour later, John was in wife's room. She was in a halo brace which meant a metal ring was around her head secured with pins going into her skull, the ring was attached a vest brace on her chest. The vest part was plastic with sheepskin lining. Underneath a hospital gown was under the vest. He saw a better view of tracheotomy was had bandages around it and the tube connected to it. She had IVs in her uninjured left arm. A blood pressure on one upper arm. Her broken arm was in light blue fiberglass cast, the ankle was in a cast of the same color and propped up on pillows. He then saw a tube coming from underneath the blanket going to a bag. He figured it was a catheter. He was told that she would be kept in a coma for a couple of days. There was now the dread of how and the doctors would tell her about her injuries.

 


End file.
